One of the simplest and most pleasurable ways of filling in 10 minutes is browsing through the greeting card collection at your local corner store, bookshop, museum, or newsagency. And if you purchase a card, whether a birthday, anniversary or even condolence, you will bring a message of love into the life of another.
Before the instant communications of email and text messaging, sending a card was one way for people to show how much they cared, especially if the recipient lived interstate or overseas. It helped people to stay in touch and allowed the expression of affection despite the tyranny of distance.
Sadly, these days, electronic communication has taken over (you can even send ‘ecards’!), and snail-mail cards have declined dramatically. Sure, an SMS is immediate and cheaper, but it’s also impersonal, and I am yet to see a text printed and displayed on a sideboard next to a row of funny and thoughtful cards.
I first became aware of how powerful cards can be when I was nine years old and off school following a vicious dog attack. It didn’t look likely I’d be going outside to play with friends anytime soon, let alone going to school. I was miserable and felt I’d been forgotten by all my mates and fellow students. But that Friday afternoon, something amazing happened: my thoughtful teacher from the previous year, Mrs Ling, had organised for the delivery of get-well cards drawn up by her current batch of students. There were over 20 cards, along with the promise of another load from my actual Year 4 class. It was an incredibly welcome distraction, and I still treasure every hand-drawn card.
• Have a place where you keep a list of birthdays you wish to remember, and check each week for any that are approaching. (I keep mine in my diary.)
• Choose a card that is appropriate for the recipient: what would put a smile on their face? What are their hobbies or pastimes? Do they like horses, butterflies, sport or the wilderness?
• Museums and art galleries are terrific places to find unique cards.
• Create your own cards or enlist your children or grandchildren to make a card for you.
• If your friend is overseas or interstate, make sure you send the card in plenty of time and with the correct postage.
• If you are concerned it may arrive early, write on the envelope ‘DO NOT OPEN UNTIL …’.
• Condolence and get-well cards are especially valuable to recipients, as they demonstrate that you care without intruding.
• If you’re sending a card to someone you don’t see all that regularly, why not include a newsy letter and some photos?
• Cards vary in price, but even on a limited budget you can usually find something fun or appropriate in discount shops. But do keep in mind the occasion: an obviously cheap, mass-produced generic card might not be fitting for a wedding or bereavement, for example.
• Why not keep cards that you receive? In years to come, they may bring back memories.
• Keep an updated address list to make sure your cards reach the correct destination.
Purchasing and sending cards can be expensive, so you might wish to be selective or shop around a bit before you open your wallet. During the festive season, for instance, I justify sending Christmas cards by purchasing them from a charity shop where I can support organisations such as the Dogs Home, Cat Centre or Amnesty International.
Cards – whether condolence, retirement or just to say ‘thank you!’ – are so much more than the paper on which they are printed. How marvellous it is to be the recipient of a card from a friend you haven’t seen in years, or to go back over childhood birthday wishes from Mum, Dad and your grandparents.
Cards can bring comfort for the bereaved, give hope to those feeling a bit lost and act as a simple physical reminder that we are loved and cared for.